Trump reportedly asks world leaders to call him directly on his cellphone

Donald Trump on the telephone.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

President Trump wants to cut out the middle man — in this case, the White House operator — and have world leaders call him directly on his cellphone, several former and current U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

He's already told Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto to give him a ring on his cell, breaking protocol and raising the concerns of security experts who say a cellphone, even one issued by the government, could easily be tapped by a foreign government. Officials told AP that Trudeau has taken Trump up on his offer and called his cellphone, but Nieto has not. A French official said that when he called French President Emmanuel Macron to congratulate him on his victory, he gave Macron his cell number, but the official would not say if Macron plans on ever calling it.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.